


Whole Lotta Love

by deanandcassbutt



Category: Led Zeppelin
Genre: Led Zeppelin - Freeform, M/M, POV: Jimmy, POV: Robert, jimbert - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-13 21:17:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3396650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanandcassbutt/pseuds/deanandcassbutt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starts when Jimmy and Robert meet up at Jimmy's in Pangbourne, 1968.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Phone Call, An Awkward Call, And Meeting At Jimmy's

**Author's Note:**

> I just thought this up a week ago while I was reading Hammer of the Gods, and I couldn't resist writing it all. Here are the things my head comes up with!

Jimmy was ecstatic. He had went to a college in Birmingham to see a guy named Robert Plant sing, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the singer’s voice. The wailing and raw power that didn’t really match Plant’s appearance of blond curls, light blue eyes, and beautiful face. But somehow, it just worked. Like how small children look like they talk so quietly you can’t hear them, but they end up being the loudest people ever.

That was the only metaphor Jimmy could think of that fit.

The performance had been the week before. Robert was probably waiting by his phone for the make or break call from Jimmy that would land him as lead singer for the New Yardbirds. After all, Peter Grant, the toughest, most experienced person Jimmy knew, had been blown away, and that was hard to do. So Jimmy picked up the phone of his Pangbourne boathouse, and dialled Robert’s number, not at all surprised when it was picked up after one ring. So he _had_ been waiting.

‘Hello?’

‘Hey, Robert, it’s Jimmy.’

‘Oh, my God, hi! So, what did you decide? Sorry, I sound desperate, don’t I?’

Jimmy laughed. 'No, it's alright. I was just calling to tell you that we're considering giving you the job.'

'Really? Thank you! Uh, just a second, hold on.' Robert said something off to someone else, who squealed and took the phone from him.

'You won't regret it, mate, Robert's fantastic! Mind you, you might want to make sure not to let him outta the closet, if you know what I mean...' The girl laughed wickedly as Robert snatched the receiver back. 'Shut up, Maureen! That's not funny!'

Jimmy didn't say anything, probably due to the fact that he was trying to figure out how to break out of his, too. But he just shook that thought away, and kept on going with what he had said. 'So, anyway, I was thinking that you might want to come over tomorrow and just hang out, talk about the band? I've got some ideas on what it should sound like, but I want your input since you'll be singing and all.'

'Yeah, that'd be great! See you to-Wait, I kind of need an address, since I have no idea where the hell you are.'

Jimmy smacked himself on the forehead. 'Yeah, sorry! It's 4 Shooters Hill, Pangbourne. About two hours from you.' He waited until Robert was done saying the address after him as he wrote it down, and then smiled to himself when Plant said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then?’ ‘Yeah, sounds good. Bye!’

‘Bye, Pagey. Wait, sorry, bye, Jimmy! MAUREEN, SHUT UP!’ There was a loud laugh from the background, and Robert hung up.

* * *

* * *

 ‘Bloody hell, Maureen, why’d you do that?!’ Maureen kept on laughing, her long black hair shaking as she doubled over. ‘Cos your face was priceless! You looked like you were a cartoon stopped over a cliff!’ She fell off of Robert’s bed, landing on her back, and kept on giggling. He sighed, and stepped over her, grabbing his notebook of lyrics to songs he hoped could now be performed once he met up with Jimmy. A voice came up from the hardwood. ‘Rob, tell me the truth. Is he at least cute? Just a bit?’

‘Yeah, he really is. Like, he’s got this really dark hair that kind of curls, and he’s got these…eyes that are kind of the colour of what you’d think a tree with super bright leaves would look like. His eyes aren’t brown though, they’re green. And…what? Why are you looking at me like that?’

Maureen was smiling, her head resting on the tops of her hands at the foot of his bed. ‘No reason… Except for the fact that you’re _so_ in love, it’s kind of pathetic. You’ve met him, what, once, and you’re already talking about him like you’ve been hit in the head with a bloody hammer and are trying to make sense of what happened to you.’ Robert rolled his eyes and mumbled. ‘You were that way with Eric, and I didn’t say anything.’

‘Probably because you fancied him, too. And shut up, I know it when I see it. It’s a gift from my mum. Runs in the family.’ She said it jokingly, but he wasn’t so sure; after all, her family had so many stories of the daughters getting two people together and causing marriages, they were endless.

His friend stood up and said, ‘At least let me drive you to…wherever he lives, so I can see for myself. Give my judgement, yeah? So sleep on it and tell me in the morning, alright?’ Robert threw his pillow at her, and tried to pout. ‘Yeah, yeah. ‘Night.’ But as she closed his bedroom door, he couldn’t stop the smile creeping up on his face.

When he woke up the next morning, Maureen was sitting on his floor, looking expectedly up at him. ‘So?’ she asked, ‘Am I driving you there or not?’ ‘Do you know how to get to Pangbourne?’ ‘I work there, remember? At the pub by Shooters Hill?’

Robert smiled. ‘Yeah. So he lives at 4 Shooters Hill. I-’ Maureen gasped. ‘Oh my God, Rob, have you even _seen_ that house?! I’ve always wanted to go in! And you get to possibly get some from the owner! God, you’re lucky.’ He laughed, packed a bag, and followed her out to her car.

* * *

* * *

 Jimmy woke up, yawning widely. He was curled up in a chair on the balcony overlooking the Thames, his guitar still in his lap from the night before. He got up, set the guitar on the chair, and walked to the kitchen. After putting a kettle on the stove, he made himself a plate of eggs in time to eat them with his tea, and just when he finished his breakfast, he heard a knock on the front door.

‘Just a second, I’m coming.’ He grabbed his mug of tea, and still groggy eyed, opened the front door to Robert and a girl with dark hair and light brown skin that matched her eyes. She raised an eyebrow. ‘So… You’re Jimmy, huh?’ She turned to Robert, and said in a reminding tone, ‘Remember the family gift? It’s saying yes.’ She winked at him, and said goodbye to Jimmy before getting back in her car and driving away.

Robert shook his head, laughed. ‘That’s…that’s Maureen. She’s like the annoying little sister I never had.’ Jimmy laughed. ‘I’m an only child, so…I kind of get it. Anyways, d’you want tea? I’ve got the kettle on the stove, the water’s still hot.’

‘Sure, thanks.’

As they went back inside, Robert took off his jacket, a look of awe on his face at the huge house, especially at the fact that there was two flights of stairs, one going down and another up. He heard a laugh from the corner where the smell of food was coming from, and watched as Jimmy came back with another mug of tea. ‘Here, it’s Earl Grey. Seemed appropriate since the weather is rubbish, what with the fog coming back. Oh, hold on, just a second.’

He went back to the front door and opened it, then cursed. ‘Bloody hell, he forgot again! Listen, I gotta go down to the shops, there’s a different newsboy today and he always forgets my house. I’ll be back in a few minutes, just pick out any records you want to listen to, Planty.’

‘I’m alright with you calling me that.’

When Jimmy closed the door, they both stood still where they were, and without knowing, muttered to themselves, ‘Dammit, flirting after one bloody day? Really? He’s probably not even into you.’

And so each of them went about their business, Jimmy setting off to the shops while Robert sat down next to a large collection of records, both thinking what it would be like when they saw each other again, what would happen.

If anything remotely intimate would happen, which they both definitely wouldn’t object to, what with the mutual attraction they had for each other.

Robert didn’t want to admit it, but God, Maureen was right.


	2. Jimmy Walks To Get The News, Thinks Of Robert, And Can't Help Himself

As Jimmy walked down to the village to get his missing news, his mind kept on wandering to what Robert had said.

_‘I’m alright with you calling me that.’_

That could mean a ton of different things, all of which led him to think about his reaction to Robert’s voice when he’d said it, low and probably unintentionally seductive. The reaction he had where his entire body had shivered from the top of his spine down to the tips of his toes. He had never done that before, not even with the girls he’d slept with. He’d never really done anything for them, just sat there and made noises so the girls didn’t feel like they were doing something wrong on their end. They hadn’t, the problem was they were not his type at all.

But Robert…That was a completely different story. He was attractive, he could sing, moved like Elvis, and Jimmy could only imagine what he must be like in bed. The way his voice was could definitely mean he was a screamer, but at the same time, he might be slow and perfect and make Jimmy both speechless and breathless, or draw sounds out of him that he didn’t know he could make.

The guitarist felt his body shiver at that. He found his way to a news stand, and after paying some amount of money, started back home. But the images in his head were just too vivid for him to ignore. He shook his head and grunted, ‘Fuck it.’ Storming off the side of the road into a nearby thicket of trees, he leaned against a large trunk and could see it clearly; Robert over him, the blond curls hanging down and getting into his face as the singer beat him off and said the dirtiest things that Jimmy had ever heard in that low, demanding voice that made his heart jump in his chest like a jolt of electricity had brought him back to life.

Jimmy closed his eyes and grabbed his hair with both hands, dropping the newspaper on the ground. The Jimmy in his head did the exact same thing (without the paper, of course), and opened his mouth in a silent moan as sweat beaded on his forehead. His hands moved to Robert’s hair, carding through the curls as Robert went faster and slurred, ‘You’re so close, huh, Pagey? Come on, you’ll feel so good, Jimmy, you’re so close…’

Robert’s lips moved down to press against Jimmy’s, moving with him, and then he was losing all control of his body and his head, his hands flying to Robert’s shoulders and digging his nails into the shoulders, his hips going against Robert’s hand as he came. Robert just kept going, slowed down, kissing Jimmy’s hair while the guitarist’s head was buried in the crook of his neck. His exhausted gasps coming out as groans from deep in his chest, and when he was done, Robert kissed a breathless Jimmy again before holding his face with both hands.

‘Come on, now, Pagey. Open your eyes, I’m waiting for you to come home. Remember?’


	3. Robert Soaks His Shirt In Tea, Jimmy Says Things, and Robert Shocks Them Both

Robert was still looking through Jimmy’s vinyl collection when he came back, smiling when the door closed and the guitar player took off his coat, which was soaking wet. ‘It’s a downpour out there. It’s like a bloody shower, that’s how bad it was!’ He shook out his dark curls, drops of water dripping from the ends and flying onto the floor. He laughed.

‘I’m gonna get a towel from the bathroom really quick, then I’ll be right back so we can listen to some music. Does that sound alright?’ Robert nodded, and when Jimmy left the room, took off his shirt and shoved random areas of it repeatedly into his teacup, to make an excuse as to why he was shirtless. Just to see what would happen. He threw the damp shirt over his jacket and picked up a record by Joan Baez, and puzzled over the track list on the back of the cover when Jimmy came back.

Jimmy paused for a second, then kept walking until he was standing next to Robert and the turntable on the floor. He looked at the list, and Robert couldn’t help but lean closer until their shoulders touched. He held out the album for Jimmy to look at. ‘I haven’t hear much by her, but I have heard this one. I love it.’ He pointed at the first track on the first side, _Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You_ , and Jimmy raised his eyebrows. ‘Really? I love it, too. That’s funny. Who else d’you like?’

‘Eh, I dunno, a lot. But I really like Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. Y’know, the blues and all that.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Yeah…Why?’

‘They’re my favourites, too!’

They both turned to look at each other, and Jimmy blushed when their eyes met, looking back down at the record’s cover. ‘We’ve…We have a hell of a lot in common, I reckon.’ Robert shrugged. ‘Yeah. But I bet you have had _loads_ of girlfriends, I only had one when I was thirteen. And she left me for some reason, I don’t even think she _told_ me…’

Jimmy bit his lip, and Robert thought he might’ve said something wrong. But Jimmy just grinned. ‘No, I’ve had one, too. To make her feel alright even though she was barking up the totally wrong tree. I mean, not that I haven’t shagged a bird before, but I did it to be more…I dunno, more normal, I guess.’

Robert felt his head spin, and had to tell himself over and over in his head, _He’s not into you, he’s not into you, he’s not into you._ But he couldn’t even listen to the voice in his mind when Jimmy said quietly, ‘I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you since I saw you in Birmingham.’ Robert couldn’t think, couldn’t even form complete sentences if he tried. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah. You just…I couldn’t get the sound of your voice out of my head, how incredible it was. I actually couldn’t even believe you weren’t big already cos you were so good. Seriously. You’ve got the voice, the looks, everything. I still can’t really process it, to be perfectly honest.’

He laughed, shaking his head. He carefully took the sleeve out of the album, and said, ‘I didn’t really think you’d join, either. I mean, you’re a lot more talented vocally than I know I will be, and I didn’t know if you would even want to meet with me here. So when you said yes, it was a pretty big thing for me.’ Placing the vinyl onto the turntable, he lifted the needle and set it down at the edge, looking back to Robert.

‘But you know something?’ ‘What?’ ‘I’ll never leave you.’ There was a moment of silence where Jimmy’s eyes widened like he was absolutely terrified that Robert would leave, but instead, Robert grabbed the nape of the guitarist’s neck, moved his head forward, and kissed him.


	4. Hands, Curly Hair, and a Rainy Afternoon

Jimmy felt his heart jolt when the singer’s lips touched his, and couldn’t figure out how he should react when Robert pulled away slowly, still holding the back of Jimmy’s neck as he opened his eyes. ‘Just…Don’t ever say that you didn’t expect me to join you. Because the second we met, I was sold.’ Jimmy licked his lips, which were starting to feel dry ever since the kiss had ended. He brought both hands up to hold Robert’s face, and as he lifted his head up closer to Robert’s, he could hear his heartbeat hammering in his ears like a drumbeat that got faster and faster as the seconds passed. Jimmy pressed his lips so minutely against Robert’s, he didn’t really register the contact until he leaned into it. A small gasp escaped his mouth when Robert brought a hand to the small of his back and moved Jimmy closer. Their lips didn’t break away until Robert started to unbutton Jimmy’s shirt, still slightly damp from the rain outside which was now so heavy that it could be heard on the roof and as it collided with the windows.

Jimmy pulled away, catching his breath and saying, ‘Upstairs. My room’s upstairs…’ He stood up, grabbed Robert by the hand, and led him up the stairway into a huge open room with guitars filling a separate room to the left and a small bathroom to the right. Robert stood still for a bit like he was in shock, but after a second or two, he moved over to where Jimmy was, and held the guitarist by the waist. Jimmy shook as Robert leaned into him, lips just by his ear, and whispered in the voice he’d imagined, ‘You want me so bad, Pagey, I can feel it.’ Jimmy groaned when Robert grinded a thigh against his growing hard on, and couldn’t help but dig his fingernails into Robert’s shoulders when the singer did it again, only letting go so Robert could take his shirt off.

After Jimmy’s shirt was on the floor, Robert didn’t make a move, didn’t do anything but hold onto his sides gently. Looking Jimmy up and down, he sighed and dug his head into Jimmy’s neck and said, ‘You’re so fucking perfect…’ Jimmy’s heart fluttered at that, and he felt Robert nudging him back onto his bed. He sat on the edge, moving himself back to the pillows before Robert got to him, holding his neck with one hand and unbuttoning his jeans with the other. Jimmy must have stopped, because Robert pulled away and said softly, ‘Are you alright? D’you want to stop?’

‘No, no, I’m okay. It’s okay, really.’ Robert didn’t look so sure about it, though. So to show that he was serious, Jimmy wrapped his arms around the singer’s neck and kissed him again, smiling when Robert continued with his jeans. When Robert finally got the denim off of him, Jimmy couldn’t help the moan that escaped his lips when Robert’s hand reached into his pants and grabbed the base to get Jimmy’s hard on out.

The guitarist couldn’t stop his hands from shaking as he twisted his fingers into Robert’s hair to pull his lips down to kiss him, and then he heard Robert gasp, felt something else against him. He looked down, and he felt like he’d come just from what he saw; Robert’s hand around the both of them, beating them off at the same time. When Jimmy swore loudly and gripped the golden curls in his fingers even tighter, Robert started to go faster, leaning into Jimmy’s hips and putting his mouth right below Jimmy’s ear. He grunted loudly as Jimmy bucked his pelvis against Robert’s, the feeling of that movement bringing up loud moans from both of them.

Robert brought his lips up to Jimmy’s ear, saying in that deep voice, ‘Pagey…You’re so close…Come on, babe, you’re so good, you’re so close…’  And then he wasn’t able to control his body anymore. Jimmy felt his back arch, his toes curl, felt his mouth open wide as he let out a loud moan. Robert followed seconds later, pressing his face into the pillow under Jimmy’s head as he cried out a high pitched wail of, ‘OH, JIMMY!’ over and over, getting quieter as he ended.

Robert let go of them both, collapsing on top of Jimmy and breathing heavily into his shoulder. As the minutes passed, Jimmy remembered something. ‘Planty? The record’s probably over downstairs…’ Robert laughed and said in a tired voice, ‘Oh, well, we can listen to more tomorrow, right?’

‘It’s only…three in the afternoon.’

‘Well, I don’t want to get up. I want to sleep.’

Jimmy chuckled, and wrapped his arms around Robert, saying softly, ‘Okay, then. Sleep. I won’t get up, I swear.’

But Robert was already knocked out, his steady breaths tickling Jimmy’s neck as he exhaled. So Jimmy, with nothing else he could really do, closed his eyes and went to sleep faster than he had expected, the rain still beating down on the roof above them.

 

**Two Days Later**

Robert sipped his tea, a feeling of sadness welling up in his stomach. He didn’t want to leave Jimmy’s, but knew that moving in wasn’t really an option so early in what he considered a relationship. He had called Maureen after he talked it over with Jimmy, who said that he _would_ be moving in with him as soon as the right amount of time passed, which seemed farther away than eternity even though it was just a few months. Robert smiled to himself. He’d make that a lyric some way or another.

After drinking the rest of his tea, he stayed still for a while, looking at nothing in particular but the wall in front of him, the details in the bricks getting sharper as he stared at it. Only when he heard someone say, ‘Robert? Are you in there?’ did he blink, Jimmy now in the seat in front of him with a slightly concerned look on his face.

‘Yeah, sorry. I’m just a bit down cos I’ve got to leave to go back to Birmingham, that’s all. It’s been a good two days here, y’know?’

Jimmy reached across the table and held Robert’s hand, a sad smile on his face. ‘Yeah, it has been pretty nice. I don’t think I’ve had the time to just stay at home and listen to records with another human being in a while. It was a good thing for me.’

‘Yeah. I’ve never really done any of that before.’

‘What, recor- Oh, you’ve never…’

‘Shagged another bloke, yeah.’

Jimmy smirked. ‘Well, you did a great job for your first time.’ Robert flushed a bright red, looking down into his empty teacup. ‘Thanks.’

There was a long silence, where Robert focused on the sound of the rain outside, which had finally started to lighten to a barely audible patter on the windows. He heard a car engine, a loud low rumbling that revved every few seconds. As it got closer, he recognised the frustrated screams from the driver as Maureen’s. He chuckled and stood up, putting on his jacket and picking up his suitcase before going over to Jimmy’s side of the table and leaning down to kiss him lightly on the lips.

‘See you soon, Pagey.’

‘See you later, Planty.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maureen and Robert are going to be the focus in the next chapter, I'm really excited for it. Sorry it too so long!


	5. Maureen Tries To Get Info Out Of Robert

‘Soooooo, tell me what happened.’

‘Not much, just listened to musi-’

‘Rob, I know when you’re bullshitting me. Tell me what happened.’

Robert groaned. ‘Mo, why? Why d’you want to know?’

‘Cos I want to know if I was right about you two!’

Robert and Maureen were sitting on the floor of his room, listening to a Jefferson Airplane record that Maureen had bought during Robert’s time in Pangbourne, ‘Somebody To Love’ turned down so as to let the rest of her family sleep. As the song ended and ‘My Best Friend’ began, and Robert sighed in defeat at Maureen’s wide brown eyes stared into his. ‘Okay, fine. We did.’

She smirked knowingly, but still asked, ‘Elaboration, please?’

‘We…shagged, alright? There, I said it.’

Maureen squealed and fell over on her side, her eyes shining up at him with happiness. ‘REALLY? You really did? Yes! I have the gift!’

‘And there’s something else.’

‘What?’

‘I…I’m moving in with him in couple of months, while we’re getting the band figured out. Just so I don’t have to have you drive me down there all the time. And you don’t have to give me that look, cos yes, that was another reason why.’ Maureen rolled her eyes and picked up another record she had bought, laughed to herself, and handed him the album. ‘Hey, Percy, see if you know anyone on the cover of this one. I think you will.’

He grabbed it and almost threw it at her; there, on the cover, was Jimmy back while he was in the Yardbirds, looking perfect as always. Robert pushed her shoulders forcefully, and she fell back onto the floor again, laughing harder. ‘Robert’s got a boyfriend! HA!’ He lifted the needle off of the Jefferson Airplane record, and after putting it back in its sleeve, dug through his collection of singles. He grinned when he found the one he wanted to hear.

‘Have you ever heard Jimmy sing?’ he asked Maureen, focusing on taking the single out.

‘No, he usually plays guitar. Right?’

‘Yeah, but last year, he released a single. Only he was singing _and_ playing guitar and everything but the drums.’ He put the 45 on the turntable, and Maureen flipped over so she was holding her head in her hands. ‘Is he any good, though?’

‘Yeah, I like his voice.’

‘No, you idiot, _is he any good?’_

Robert rolled his eyes, starting the single’s A side of _She Just Satisfies._ ‘God, Mo, is that all you want to talk about? How shagging him was?’

‘Yes. Now spill.’

‘Um...He does have really nice arm muscles. Cos of guitar. And he’s really good with his hands, and he has the best lips ever. Like, just really good to have anywhere...’

Maureen crossed her arms and with a smirk on her face, said in a low, almost sultry, voice, ‘So he blew you, then.’

‘Yeah. Wait, what...I...SHUT UP!’ He stood up and went to sit on his bed, picking up his book of lyrics from the floor. He thought of confused he had been before he met Jimmy, how he had suddenly been given some explanation when he’d found out that their love for each other really was mutual. The words seemed to come out of nowhere, so clear that he didn’t notice Maureen trying to talk to him as he wrote.

_Been dazed and confused for so long it’s not true_ _…_


	6. Jimmy Tries To Find The Rest Of The Band, Goes To Maureen's Work, and Finds Out About Robert

Jimmy had been calling as many musically talented people he knew, and nobody was interested in joining a band consisting of a had-been session guitarist and a pot smoking, note screaming hippie. So Robert was, yet again, valuable. He called him up, and as soon as the singer answered, said, ‘D’you know anybody who could join? Bassist and drummer?’ Robert was silent, and then said, ‘Yeah, this bloke named Bonzo, he’s phenomenal at drums. He played in a band I was in once, he actually can break drum heads when he gets carried away, it’s great. I can give him a ring and see if he’s interested.’ After a heavenly sympathetic Robert gave him some hope that they’d find someone for bass, Jimmy hung up, but then was redialling Robert’s number. He swallowed and said in an uncharacteristically shy voice, ‘Where does Maureen work, again? I want to come to your place.’ He wrote the pub’s name down, and took an hour long nap so he could keep any conversation he and Maureen began going.

It took him only a few minutes to walk down to the pub that Maureen worked at, and as soon as he walked through the door, she smiled and waved to him. He sat down at the bar, and ordered a glass of Jack Daniels. ‘Hey, Maureen, I was just wondering if you could drive me down to where you and Robert are? I just want to see him.’

‘Been too long?’

‘Feels like it has, yeah. That and finding the bassist for the band has been really hard.’

She nodded and said, ‘Yeah, but you and Robert work really well together. Balance each other out. So just go with your gut and it’ll work fine. He’ll probably work with it, too. Rob’s a really down to earth guy when it comes to the business part of music. And I can tell you are, too. Trust me, Jimmy, it’ll be fine, it’ll come together.’ He smiled warmly at her and took a sip of his drink.

‘You’re great, Maureen, really. I can see why he chose to move in with you and your family.’

She laughed and looked down, grabbing the end of her long braid and fiddling with the end. ‘My family isn’t as conservative as most of the people here. We’re pretty loose. They all knew Rob wasn’t exactly the straightest person when he came to live with us, but they didn’t mind. He’s a good guy. My best mate.’ Her eyes lifted up to Jimmy’s, and he saw them filled with sadness.

‘What’d he tell you about what happened with his parents?’

‘That they didn’t want him to keep singing, so they made him leave. Why?’

She sighed and sniffed. ‘I’ll tell you what happened in the car. My shift ends in about twenty minutes.’

He looked around the pub, and noticed a small platform that could be a stage, and an acoustic guitar on a stand in the corner. He nodded towards the guitar. ‘Whose is that?’

Maureen shrugged. ‘Dunno. Some bloke came in one day, put it there, and said, “This place needs some music, it’s sad with only the talking.” And he just left it here. D’you wanna…?’ He got off of the stool, and walked over to the platform. He grabbed a chair and picked up the guitar. He plucked each string, testing the tuning and adjusting if they needed to be. He set his fingers on the fret board with a random chord, and when he started playing, a sort of hush fell over the entire pub. He could feel every single pair of eyes on him, but he kept going, the song somehow building itself from his fingertips. He poured every single emotion he had felt for the past two days into each chord. He played for only five minutes, but the amount he had gotten out of it felt like forever.

After a round of thunderous applause, he set the guitar back on its stand and went back to his seat at the bar. Maureen handed him another glass of Jack, which he downed in one go. She smiled and said in a low voice only Jimmy could hear, ‘No wonder he likes you. You can make an entire room go silent just with your fingers and a guitar nearby. Not a lot of people on this earth can do that.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. Well, that, and the fact that he’s totally crazy about you. Oh, it’s six, time to get back home. Time really does go by, huh?’

She took off her apron and left the bar, Jimmy following her to a different car from the one she had used to pick up Robert the previous day. ‘The Beetle died yesterday, so I have to use my dad’s Holden ‘till I save up enough money for a new car.’ She started the car up, backed out of the parking spot, and drove out of the parking lot into the main street. Jimmy was the first one to talk.

‘So, Maureen, where’s your family from?’

‘Calcutta. I was born there, but we moved here when I was really little, and my younger sister, Shirley, was born here. My mum’s got an accent, though, cos she was born there, but my dad’s from here. How about yours?’

‘Epsom. Skiffle was basically my life there when I was learning how to play.’

Another silent minute, where they were stopped at a light.

‘So Robert told you he had to leave cos his parents didn’t want him singing?’

Jimmy looked at her. The side of Maureen’s face made it clear she was trying not to cry. ‘Yeah...Why? What really happened?’

She breathed deeply, and she gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles.

‘You know how my family’s pretty alright with Rob, yeah?’

Jimmy nodded, and immediately knew where this was going.

‘Rob’s family wasn’t okay with it at all. His mum was going through his room one day and she found a whole bunch of journals under his bed with song lyrics, but they were personal enough for her to figure out that he was gay. She told Rob’s dad, and he pretty much assaulted him, calling him stuff like...like...’

‘Things too bad to say?’

‘Yeah. Of course, Robert felt really beat up about that. Who wouldn’t feel completely destroyed after your own father says that kind of thing to you?’ She blinked and tears streamed down her cheeks. ‘So Robert packed up his things, including all of his journals and his guitar, and left straight to my house. Nobody said no when he asked if he could stay. We just wanted him to know somebody thought his existence meant something.’

Maureen smiled to herself and laughed lightly, merging onto the highway. ‘And then he met you at that gig. When he came home, I thought he wouldn’t shut up about you. He didn’t stop talking about how great you were and how excited he was for your phone call. He answered every single one that came in until you phoned. You should have seen his face when you started talking, he looked absolutely pathetic.’

Jimmy couldn’t help laughing at that, and as she started to laugh with him, the ride up to Birmingham didn’t seem as emotionally difficult as it previously had been.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got around to finishing this chapter up! Damn, it's been a while. Thanks fro sticking with me, loves!

Robert was sitting down at the dinner table, writing another song he had thought of, _Communication Breakdown_ , in a notebook. Picking up his cup of tea and taking a sip, he looked up when he heard the front door opened and felt his heart jump. There, next to Maureen and smiling back at Robert, was Jimmy, his jacket over his shoulder.

‘Hey, Planty. I’m home.’

Robert completely forgot that Maureen was there, he just stood up and walked over to Jimmy and flung his arms around his neck. ‘What’re you doing here, Pagey?’

‘I just wanted to see you again. I missed you a lot.’

Robert smiled into Jimmy’s shoulder and only let go when Maureen said loudly, ‘Oh, hello, mum! This is the guy Rob was talking about, his name’s Jimmy.’

The woman, middle aged with long black hair like her daughter, smiled to Jimmy, who had been pushed away by Robert. ‘How are you, Jimmy? I am glad I got to meet you after how long Robert has been talking about you.’

Robert pouted and mumbled, ‘I didn’t talk about him _that_ much.’

‘Yes, you did!’ Maureen and her mother said together, causing Jimmy to laugh at the look on Robert’s face. After Maureen’s mum yelled something up the stairs in Hindi, and two young children, a teenager, and a thirty something year old man came down. Maureen grabbed Jimmy and Robert by the hand, and led them into the dining room to two extra chairs. The two children looked at Jimmy with awe in their dark brown eyes, and started whispering to each other behind their hands. As the table erupted in the sounds of clattering plates and silverware, Jimmy watched as everybody became a unit, Robert included, passing plates around until everyone had one. Then bowls of bright yellow, red and orange food came around in a similar way, each person getting the same amount so as to not lose a bite.

Once people began to eat their food, the teenage girl looked at Jimmy and said, ‘You’re from the Yardbirds, yeah?’

‘I was. The band split a while ago. I’m starting another one, Robert’s gonna be the singer.’

She nodded and continued eating. The man that Jimmy assumed was Maureen’s dad was the next to talk. ‘So Jimmy, where’re you from?’

‘Epsom.’

‘And you play guitar?’

‘Yeah. Well, electric, Spanish, and acoustic. I started when I was about thirteen.’

Maureen said, ‘Yeah, he’s brilliant! You know how at the pub, there’s a guitar that nobody plays? He did today, and everyone just got really quiet, even Johnson, and he’s always yelling about something. Cos he’s amazing at it.’

‘Yeah, I got to watch him play when I was over at his house, he can make up songs as he’s playing.’

There was a silence as everybody just continued their dinner, and Robert couldn’t help but think it was because of the comment that his two day absence had been for a guy he hardly knew.

Well, a guy he now knew inside and particularly outside.

After a half hour of scattered conversation where Maureen’s younger sister, Shirley, almost exclusively looked at Jimmy no matter who was speaking, Robert stood up and brought his plate into the kitchen, setting it into the sink. He heard someone stand up and walk in behind him, and only when he heard Jimmy’s voice in his ear say, ‘When does everyone usually get to bed around here?’ did he realize what this must look like from the table. Robert standing statue still while Jimmy rested his chin on his shoulder, holding the singer’s golden hair back so he could say something.

Robert bit his lip and turned around, grabbing Jimmy’s plate and putting it in the sink on top of his. They both left the kitchen and as they went up to Robert’s room, said down the stairs, ‘Mo, you can come up when you’re done, alright?’ She said a loud okay before they both went into Robert’s bedroom.

As soon as the door closed, Robert felt Jimmy’s hands on his waist, felt Jimmy’s lips on the vein in his neck where his heartbeat was thumping. Robert turned around and fastened his arms around Jimmy’s neck, brought their faces within inches of each other.

‘When Maureen comes up, we’ll have to look presentable.’

Jimmy only replied by pressing his lips against Robert’s and saying when he could, ‘Screw...presentable...I can’t...be formal.’

Robert could feel his breath starting to get heavier as Jimmy kept on kissing him, leaning against him and making them stumble back against a wall. Robert moaned into Jimmy’s mouth when his hands went down to Robert’s hips, thumbs pressing into the sensitive hollows on either side. He grinded his hips into Jimmy’s hands and felt a groan escape from Jimmy’s lips when their bodies touched from the motion. But just as Jimmy started to unbutton Robert's jeans, a knock on the door made them jump apart in panic.

‘Robert? Jimmy? Can I come in?’ Robert tried and failed to fix his hair, much like Jimmy, who only made it messier. Maureen would have a field day.

‘Yeah, yeah, come in...’ The door opened, and she immediately opened the window across the room. ‘God, Rob, it’s like a bloody sauna in here. Why is it so... ?’ She stood completely still, and Robert wanted to crawl into a hole and die when she turned around, a huge knowing grin on her stupid face. ‘Robert Anthony Plant, you little bitch! You were shagging your boyfriend with children in the vicinity!’

Jimmy and Robert started stuttering. ‘No no no no no, we weren’t!’

‘No, we weren’t shagging!’

‘We were snogging!’

‘We weren’t shagging, Mo!’

‘We’re still wearing our clothes and everything!’

Maureen just laughed and put on a record that made Jimmy blush.

 

_Yeah, she just satisfies! Yeah, you know she satisfies so good..._

_Oh every evening when I go ‘round, she’s at the door, oh-oh._

_She makes me feel so good! Than anything I know, so good!_

 

‘Robert, I didn’t know that you bought this...’

‘Well, I liked your guitar playing already, so I thought that you’d be a good singer, and you are.’

‘Shut up, no I’m not.’ Robert made to tell Maureen to change the record, but saw that she wasn’t there. So he went over to his record collection, and smiled at the first one he saw. He took the vinyl out of its sleeve and put it down on the platter. When the record started, Jimmy was immediately kissing Robert, saying ‘I love you’ so many times, Robert couldn’t even count. As they started to breathe harder, the record kept playing.

_Babe, I’m gonna leave you..._

* * *

A knock on the door woke them up. “Oi, Robert, can I come in? I won’t look, I swear.” Maureen backed into Robert’s room, her black hair in a braid down her back. “Jimmy, you still ‘ere?”

“Yeah. Morning, Mo.” The girl bounced on the heels of her feet, and said higher than usual, “Are you both covered enough that I can turn around? I wanna tell you something that I think you’ll like to hear.” Jimmy and Robert both leaned out of bed to reach their underwear, and after putting them on, Maureen turned around. “Okay, so…Wow, Rob, he is hot. Sorry. Bonzo called, he’s in. He’s coming over soon. And some bloke named John Paul Jones is downstairs, says he knows Jimmy.” She watched in shock when the two guys in front of her suddenly jumped up and redressed almost chaotically, Robert stumbling in a jean leg and hitting his ass on his nightstand while Jimmy got his head stuck in his shirt arm. After Maureen went back downstairs, the two musicians she left behind started to talk excitedly.

“Oh, my God, Jimmy, you’ll LOVE Bonzo! He’s such a good drummer, he breaks drumheads with his hands!”

“He plays drums with his hands? That’s insane!”

“Who’s John Paul Jones?”

“He’s a guy I played with back in my session days, he plays everything.He’s really nice, I think you’ll like him.”

“Pagey, do you realise that we have a band now?”

Jimmy smiled and kissed his lover, smoothing a bump of curls at the top of his head. “Yeah. How lucky is that?”


End file.
